


Puppy Love

by mocking_words



Series: 12 Days of Romanogers (Christmas 2016) [7]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:04:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8926870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mocking_words/pseuds/mocking_words
Summary: James finds a puppy





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepygrimm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepygrimm/gifts).



> Solnyshko - sun

"Mummy! Daddy! Wake up!”

Natasha groaned as she felt the mattress dip from the culprit’s weight. He was jumping up and down and she knew, for a matter of fact, without a doubt; that it was probably much too early for anyone to be awake.

Steve sat up with a yawn and got a hold on James before he hurt himself, “Hey buddy, isn’t it a bit too early for this?”

His voice was husky from sleep and God; she loved nothing more than the sound of his voice like that. Curiously, she opened one eye to peek at the digital clock on the bedside table, it was half five in the morning and James was already up and ready to go. He had inherited Steve’s tendency to get up early, or rather, the lack of need for sleep.

“I want to see the snow!” James demanded playfully. Natasha pushed herself up on her elbows to look at him, “Well sweetheart, you won’t see anything at this hour. It’s much too early. We’ll go see the snow first thing in the morning, okay?”

“But it is morning, mummy!” James pouted, crossing his arms. He was seven and he seemed to be as independent as either one of them.

“Okay, okay, let’s go,” Steve sighed, laughing as he set James down onto the floor. James let out a loud cheer and ran off to presumably get his coat. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him but he just smiled and leaned in to give her a kiss. Her hands reached out to wrap around his neck, trying to get him to change his mind. He was so warm she didn’t want to let him leave. He just chuckled and pulled away before following James out the door.

Steve wasn’t the biggest fan of the cold but if you wrapped him up in enough layers, he was actually more than willing to step outside. He seemed as intrigued with the frozen water droplets as James was and she never missed the look of excitement on his face whenever he stood underneath the falling snow. With a huge sigh, she got out of the cosy bed; the wooden floors were freezing underneath her bare feet. She tugged on a robe over her pyjamas and while it was definitely not a good idea for shorts in winter; she never learns anyway.

Padding towards the living room, a soft, orange glow illuminated the room. It came from the lamp in the corner that Steve had turned on in his haste to follow the excited kid. The glass sliding door to the garden was closed, trapping the heat inside. From the dimly lit garden, she could make out James sitting on his dad’s shoulders, trying to catch the falling snow. It brought a smile to her face as they seemed to enjoy each other’s company in the silence. She decided to let them have their moment, opting to head into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

It was not ten minutes later that she heard the door open as she sat at the kitchen bar, sipping on her coffee. Steve shook the snow off his coat, the snowflakes covering his hair. She smiled at the sight. James was right behind him but it was what he held in his arms that surprised her.

* * *

“James, what is that in your arms?” Natasha asked. She knew what it was, she just needed to know if she was right because it looked like he was holding a shivering little pup in his arms.

“It’s a puppy, mummy,” James replied, a wide grin forming on his rosy face, “Can we keep it?”

Steve shrugged, a smile on his face as he hung up his coat, “James heard a little puppy whining outside his window, that’s why he wanted to go outside.”

Her heart almost melted. He’d wanted to save the puppy.

“Why didn’t you just tell us, _solnyshko_?

“I wasn’t sure,” James replied, looking at her with those big blue eyes she’d gotten from Steve. God, he was so cute. Steve got down to James’ height and held his arms out, “Alright, let’s take a look at this little guy.”

Natasha watched as Steve taught James to check for injuries on the puppy. When he stepped back to let James warm the puppy with a towel, he pulled her towards the kitchen.

“Where did you learn to treat dogs?” she asked with a curious smirk on her face.

“World War II,” he replied, holding his gaze on James before turning to throw her a smirk himself.

“Some fancy training you’ve got there, Rogers,” she laughed, leaning against his arm, “He’s going to ask us to let him keep it isn’t he?”

“Yup.”

“Are we going to say yes?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s a little German Shepherd.”

“Police dog,” she supplied, “He might belong to someone you know.”

Steve rubbed her arm comfortingly, “I’ll take him to the vet later today to get him checked. But, if he doesn’t belong to anyone, are we keeping him?”

She thought about it for a moment before she realised and laughed, “How could you possibly say no to James?”

It was almost physically impossible for her to say no to his face. He hardly ever asked for much and when he did, it was never anything big.

“ _Solnyshko_ , come here please,” she smiled, getting down to his height, “Hey, James, daddy and I have decided that we are going to let you keep the puppy, alright? But first, daddy’s got to take him to the vet to check if he belongs to anybody before we take him in. Is that okay with you?”

James nodded vigorously, a wide grin on his face, “Yes! Thank you! I promise I’ll take good care of him, or if he belongs to someone, I’ll take Max home to them!”

Steve chuckled, “Max, huh?”

“That’s the name of my dinosaur, daddy!”

James’s favourite toy was an extremely large and cute, stuffed, blue dinosaur. It had been a gift from Wanda and Bucky from when he was a baby and he still loved it as much as he did all those years ago.

“I know buddy, but it looks like your dinosaur has come to life in the form of a puppy,” Steve smiled, ruffling James’ hair.

She shook her head, grinning at her two boys, “Okay kiddos, how about we get our new friend some water first?”

Steve went to fill a container of water and placed it in front of the dog. Max took his time, lapping up every single drop before flopping onto James’ lap. He wasn’t shivering anymore and was as curious as a baby. Natasha had to admit; it was the cutest thing ever and couldn’t resist snapping a photo on her phone. Steve just chuckled at her.

* * *

Steve took James with him to the vet later during the day. When she heard Steve’s car pull up the driveway, she realised that despite the fact that Max may not belong with them, she probably had to get James a dog after all this. It didn’t bother her though, she had always been more of a cat person herself; but she liked dogs just as well.

Her reaction was different though, when they ended up bringing back an array of chew toys. In fact, Steve was hauling a fifty pound bag of dog food on one shoulder, kicking the door closed after James with his foot before he dropped the bag on the floor as James yelled excitedly, running towards her with Max hot on his trail, “Mummy! Mummy! We can keep Max!”

Natasha grinned as he clambered onto the couch where she sat, throwing his arms around her, "That’s wonderful _solnyshko_ , looks like we have a new family member.”

Max barked happily, prompting James to pet him, “Come on Maxy! I’ll show you around!”

“We took a trip to the pet store,” Steve chuckled as he sat down next to her.

"I figured," she said, snuggling up next to him as he kissed her.

"James was so excited he wouldn't let go of the poor thing. I can tell they're going to be the best of friends."

Natasha nodded, "He's got a good heart, he deserves it."

* * *

They had just tucked James in when Max smuggled his way into James’ room, curling up on the carpet.

“Can he stay here with me?” James yawned, turning to look at them as they stood in the doorway.

“Of course buddy. We'll see the both of you tomorrow. Good night,” Steve replied with a smile and nudged her before shutting the door behind them. Natasha jabbed him in the ribs as they walked down the hallway, towards their room, “What was that for?”

Steve just shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face as he let her enter first, “You know he’s going to love you forever for this right? He’s going to go to school telling everyone he got a new puppy and his mum let him keep it.”

His fingers traced up and down her spine as he cornered her in their room. She shook her head, feeling herself being backed against the door,

“You agreed to it too. Besides, I’d do a lot of things for the little guy.”

“And what about me?”

“I birthed a son for you, Rogers. I think that qualifies as an act of love. Especially when it hurts worse than being kicked in the balls,” she laughed, sliding her hands under his shirt, feeling the muscle underneath, “You know, I still wonder who it was who fell first. Was it me? Or was it you?"

“I’d like to say you, but I’m sure as hell it was me,” he sighed, slanting his lips to meet hers as she slammed the door shut, turning the lock behind her with one hand.

**Author's Note:**

> I've written in so many different ways how Max the dog becomes a part of the family but this one is pretty cute tbh. Leave kudos and comments if you liked it x


End file.
